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John Leicester

LONDON — The queen and James Bond gave the London Olympics an entrance like no other Friday in an opening ceremony that rolled to the rock of the Beatles, the Stones and The Who.

And the creative genius of Danny Boyle spliced it all together. The highlight of the Oscar-winning director’s $42 million show was movie magic, using trickery to make it seem that Britain’s beloved 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth II had parachuted into the stadium with the nation’s most famous spy.

The world city that needs no introduction but could do with an Olympic-sized pick-me-up in the midst of economic recession launches the 2012 Summer Games with a spectacular opening ceremony Friday that faces a unique challenge: to be as memorable as Beijing’s planet-wowing, money-no-object extravaganza of 2008.

The world city that needs no introduction but could do with an Olympic-sized pick-me-up in the midst of economic recession launches the 2012 Summer Games with a spectacular opening ceremony Friday that faces a unique challenge: to be as memorable as Beijing’s planet-wowing, money-no-object extravaganza of 2008.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The World Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday urged U.S. federal authorities to quickly hand over evidence collected in their lengthy probe into seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and doping in American cycling.

WADA president John Fahey said federal agencies in the United States gathered “significant evidence” in the criminal investigation that was abruptly closed last week with no charges filed and no explanation given.